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When the NFL schedule was announced last spring, the Houston Texans figured to be double-digit favorites over the Jaguars.

The Texans were Super Bowl contenders and the Jaguars were rebuilding from scratch.

Sure enough, the Texans are 10-point favorites as the two teams meet Sunday in Houston.

What’s unexpected is Texans have lost eight games in a row after winning their first two. They’re only one game ahead of the 1-9 Jaguars in the AFC South.

There are some obvious reasons for the Texans’ surprising struggles. Quarterback Matt Schaub struggled and was benched and running back Arian Foster and linebacker Brian Cushing, are out for the season with injuries.

Coach Gary Kubiak suffered a mini-stroke at halftime against Indianapolis, missed a game, coached last week from the press box and will be back in the press box Sunday because doctors haven’t cleared him to return to the sidelines.

Still, the Texans have the NFL’s No. 1 defense in yards allowed and rank eighth in total offense.

Kubiak said he doesn’t have an obvious answer for why the team has lost eight in a row — the last four by a total of 12 points.

“I’m still searching,’’ he said. “Obviously, it hasn’t been good. We’re lost some players, [but] heck, everybody loses players in this league. We’ve adjusted better in the past. We’ve lost a lot of close games. We’ve been in position late in the game to close some deals, haven’t done that, lost some second-half leads. The difference between success and failure in this league is very small. When you’re not making those plays in crunch time, those are the things that happen.’’

Defensive lineman J.J. Watt is having another solid year, but also at a loss to explain the team’s struggles.

“I wish I could,’’ Watt said. “Early on, we weren’t creating takeaways on defense. That was an issue. We just need to play better. We’ve had a few close games at the end and we need to find a way to close them out.’’

Last year, Watt had 20.5 sacks and 15 batted balls. This year he is at 8.5 and three batted balls, though he leads the league with 27 quarterback knockdowns.

“At the moment, I have a few less sacks than I did last year at this point, but personally for my game and when I watch myself on film and feel my personal development, I feel I am playing as well if not better than last year,’’ Watt said.

Turnovers have been a major problem. The Texans (-11) are next to last in turnover ratio. They’ve thrown 12 interceptions and lost seven fumbles.

Last week’s 28-23 loss to Oakland was a microcosm of their season. The Texans turned the ball over in their own territory twice in the first quarter, giving Oakland two easy touchdowns and a 14-0 lead.

Trailing 28-17 in the fourth quarter, Kubiak pulled Case Keenum for Schaub, who was booed so loudly the Texans had to go to a silent count in their home stadium.

The Texans kicked two field goals, but would get no closer as Schaub’s final pass to Andre Johnson fell incomplete.

Johnson left the field before the game was over, and the wide receiver and quarterback got into a shouting match. The two players then talked things over in the locker room.

Kubiak is going back to Keenum as his starting quarterback against the Jaguars.